Armored Saint’s John Bush Talks Anthrax Exit, Current Relationship With Band

John Bush spent more than a decade as Anthrax's singer before returning to his original band Armored Saint. In a lengthy interview with Mitch Lafon that you can listen to below, Bush talked about numerous topics, including his time in Anthrax and the factors that led to his exit.

When it came to his 2005 departure from the band, Bush says, (transcription via Blabbermouth) "It was definitely not one of the best-handled situations in the world. I mean, we were doing a tour of South America, but it already had been leaked that the reunion [with singer Joey Belladonna] was gonna happen, and, of course, I knew, but we never had, like, an official conversation about it. So, we were doing interviews in South America on this tour, and people were asking about the reunion, and then band members were, like, 'What are you talking about? What are you talking about?', and kind of making the journalists feel stupid about something they already know about."

Bush continues, "And I'm just sitting there, going, 'Well, this is awkward.' So instead of just going, 'Yeah, we're flirting with that idea…' There was a way to handle it, and it just wasn't handled right. In no uncertain terms, it was not handled correctly. So… You know… Whatever… Looking back, it's certainly not a fond time in my life."

Bush rejoined Anthrax briefly in 2009 for some live shows after the departure of Dan Nelson. He says he was asked to re-record Nelson's vocals on Worship Music, but didn't want to do it, which led to conflict with drummer Charlie Benante.

"I didn't participate in anything, and I always had on previous records," Bush says. "And granted, if I would have written a few songs… It was just the mindset of… 'Nah. This isn't… No.' I even said, 'Okay, if you pay me this amount of money, I'll do it.' And I gave some crazy figure, because I wasn't doing it out of the love of my soul, I was doing it for another reason. So I was, like, 'Then you've gotta pay me for it.' And that's when Benante got all livid on me and freaked out, and we still haven't spoken since then."

As to his current relationship with the other members of Anthrax, Bush says, "Well, I do talk to Scott (Ian), and I see Scott on occasion. And Joey Vera [Armored Saint bassist] and [his wife] Tracy are very close to Scott and [his wife] Pearl. And so they come to family functions and things of that nature. And I played Pearl's 40th birthday party, and we did [Anthrax's] 'Safe Home', and it was real fun. So I have a relationship with Scott, because I see him more often, but I have not talked to Charlie or Frankie [Bello] — I haven't spoken to them since, literally, that time." Hear John Bush's full interview with Mitch Lafon below.

Armored Saint's latest album Win Hands Down was released in June, and the band is currently on tour with Saxon. For all their concert dates, go here.